1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to percutaneously and/or intraluminally delivered devices and methods that include a supported graft material.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Over the past five years, there has been a great deal of research directed at developing less invasive, endovascular, i.e. catheter directed, techniques for the treatment of a wide variety of conditions, many of which are well known to those skilled in the art. This has been facilitated by the development of vascular stents, which can and have been used in conjunction with standard or thin-wall graft material in order to create a stent-graft or endograft. The potential advantages of less invasive treatments have included reduced surgical morbidity and mortality along with shorter hospital and intensive care unit stays.
While the percutaneous placement of endografts represents a significant improvement over conventional surgical techniques, there is a need to improve the endoprostheses, their method of use, and their applicability to varied biological conditions. Accordingly, in order to provide a safe and effective alternate means for treating aneurysms, including abdominal aortic and thoracic aortic aneurysms, a number of difficulties associated with currently known endoprostheses and their delivery systems must be overcome.